Chapter 38

Needless to say, I was seldom so glad to see my friend Sara as I was when she got out of Roger’s Chrysler. As for how and why, I wasn’t sure I’d caught all of the nuances, but I got the drift of what Sara was telling me and assured her we would be honored to be rescued by both Sara and her current partner. Even if I’d been concerned about a stranger learning about my criminal activities, I was in no position to express it.

Although there was no time to waste, both Aaron and I had gone a long time without a bathroom break, and there were two rest rooms beckoning to us just yards behind where Roger had parked. I for one simply couldn’t wait for our next chance, and I imagined Aaron was in a similar condition. We quickly excused ourselves and ran for the privies, Aaron first laying the velvet-wrapped violin carefully down on a nearby picnic table and telling Sara to keep her eye on it. Seeing that there would be a delay anyway, Roger got out of the car and ducked into the men’s room after Aaron. Sara apparently had had the sense to go before leaving town, so she stayed to stand guard.

In retrospect, this was another dumb move, and all three of us should’ve just wet our pants. Perhaps a minute after we entered the rest rooms, the Sanders Mercedes sped up the driveway of the park and came to a screeching halt in back of Roger’s car. Benny leaped out of the driver’s door and approached Sara, who was standing alone next to the Chrysler. Sara, having recognized the Sanders Mercedes from our reconnaissance, tried to run away, which Benny, who despite his appearance wasn’t incapable of putting two and two together and getting four, correctly interpreted as guilt. Before she could escape, Benny caught her by the arm.

Sara started to scream, but Benny put a huge hand over her mouth. “Well, well,” he said in a loud, menacing voice. “I was just lookin’ for someone who might’ve seen a coupla strangers runnin’ down the road, and look what I found instead. I’ll bet you’re waitin’ for them now. Well, we’ll just wait together.”

Sara struggled to break free, but Benny was much too strong for her.

“Settle down now,” he growled, “or they’ll be takin’ you home feet first. And you’re much too pretty for that.”

During most of this action, Aaron, Roger, and I were watching and listening from the rest room doors, which were only a few feet behind Benny’s back. None of us knew exactly how to respond. But as soon as Sara’s life seemed to be in jeopardy, inaction was no longer an option. I was the first to start toward Benny, the sound of my movements masked by the wind in the surrounding trees. But before I could take two steps from the rest room door I was grabbed by a strong hand and pulled back. Roger motioned me to stay there and be quiet.

Roger had taken off his shoes so as to make no sound as he crept up behind Benny. He had something in his hand. In the fading light Aaron and I couldn’t see exactly what was taking place, but a few seconds later Benny had let Sara go and was lying face down on the ground, while Sara ran to join Aaron and me.

As I soon learned, what Roger was carrying was a small-caliber pistol; and what he said to Benny was, in effect, that he could let Sara go or he would be the one leaving the park feet first. Benny chose the former, after which Roger ordered him down on the ground.

“Sara, move this guy’s car away from behind ours, will you?” Roger said.

But Sara was too shaken to drive even a few yards, so Aaron did the honors instead. He hustled over to the Mercedes, which was still running, and parked it at the end of the lot. He got out and threw the keys into the underbrush, a little impromptu touch that I had to admire. Then with Benny still lying on the ground, Sara, Aaron, and I got into the Chrysler. Roger, still holding his gun on Benny, backed up to the men’s room door, where he slipped back into his loafers, said something threatening to Benny that I didn’t quite catch, and while keeping an eye and his gun on the prostrate figure on the ground, got behind the wheel of his car. He pulled the door shut and with squealing tires the Chrysler headed for the parking lot exit.

Benny got up from the ground.

Before the Chrysler got to the exit, however, it came to a screeching stop, and then quickly reversed direction and retraced its path, stopping abruptly just in front of the rest rooms. The rear passenger door flew open, and Aaron leapt out, a frantic look on his face. Benny, having already had more than he bargained for with these crazy people, took off running. But Aaron wasn’t chasing Benny. Instead, he ran straight to the picnic table where he had left his Guarneri. He grabbed it and its velvet cover, hugged them to his chest, and dashed back into the car, slamming the door well after the car was already moving at speed back toward the exit.

Just how embarrassing would it have been, after all we had been through, to have left the prize behind on a picnic table?

Words could not have described it.